Volumetric ultrasound scanning of the breast has been proposed as a complementary modality for breast cancer screening as described, for example, in the commonly assigned US 2003/007598A1 published Jan. 9, 2003, which is incorporated by reference herein. The commonly assigned WO 2004/030523A2 published Apr. 15, 2004, which is incorporated by reference herein, describes a full-field breast ultrasound (FFBU) scanning apparatus that compresses a breast along planes such as the craniocaudal (CC) plane, the mediolateral oblique (MLO) plane, etc., and ultrasonically scans the breast. One side of an at least partially conformable, substantially taut membrane or film sheet compresses the breast. A transducer translation mechanism maintains an ultrasound transducer in contact with the other side of the film sheet while translating the ultrasound transducer thereacross to scan the breast.
When scanning the breast tissue to make the mammographic ultrasound image, a sonographer typically positions a probe or pod containing one or more probes against the breast tissue. The sonographer also enters data using a conventional keyboard, and views images and other information on a display. Thus, during the imaging process, the sonographer is forced to split his or her attention between three main areas: the probe positioning on the tissue, the keyboard or other input devices such as sliders and knobs, and the display. Adding to the difficulty, the office or other room where the imaging is often performed is typically maintained quite dark during imaging, in order to enhance the viewing of the display.
Thus, it would be desirable to facilitate ultrasound imaging by creating a user interface that is more ergonomic and efficient for the sonographer.